BERRYVILLE, Ark. – One of the best known names in competition shooting, Springfield Armory, is returning as a major sponsor supporting this week’s Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor National Championship.

“Springfield Armory has a long history of supporting the shooting sports and IDPA is grateful for their continued sponsorship of the Smith & Wesson Indoor Nationals,” said Robert Ray, membership and marketing director for IDPA.

Springfield Armory joins ACADEMI, Apex Tactical Specialties, Brownells, Comp-Tac Victory Gear, FMG Publications, GLOCK, Harris Publications, the National Rifle Association, the Self Defense Association, Sig Sauer Academy, Wilson Combat, XS Sight Systems and Smith & Wesson, the title sponsor, in supporting the IDPA Indoor Nationals. As part of their sponsorship, Springfield Armory will host one of the nightly hospitality suites open to all competitors and staff participating in the championship.

The Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor National Championship, now in its 18th consecutive year, serves as the official start of the IDPA season. The 2015 match takes place February 26-28 and will draw upwards of 350 of the best IDPA shooters to Springfield, Massachusetts to compete on the indoor ranges of the Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center.

For more information on IDPA, the Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor Nationals or to join the more than 24,000 members competing each week, visit www.IDPA.com.

BERRYVILLE, Ark. – Springfield Armory, one of the best known names in competition shooting, has returned as one of the major sponsors of the 2014 Smith & Wesson IDPA Back Up Gun Nationals.

“Springfield Armory is consistently one of the companies most supportive of the shooting sports and over the years has been generous in their support of IDPA,” said Robert Ray, membership and marketing director for IDPA.

BERRYVILLE, Ark. – Springfield Armory, one of the most recognized names in competition shooting, will be a major sponsor of the 2014 Comp-Tac Republic of Texas IDPA Championship.

Serving as the state’s premier defensive pistol shooting competition and state championship match, the 2014 Comp-Tac Republic of Texas IDPA Championship will take place Saturday, May 24 at the Triple C Tactical Range in Cresson, Texas. The event is being hosted by the Collin County IDPA club.

“We are very pleased to once again be partnering with Springfield Armory. Through their continued and generous support of the shooting sports, Springfield Armory has helped bring the thrill and excitement of competition to recreational shooters all across the country,” said Robert Ray, membership and marketing director for IDPA.

BERRYVILLE, Ark. – Springfield Armory, one of the best known names in competition shooting, is back as a major sponsor of the upcoming Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor National Championship.

“The shooting sports owe a lot to Springfield Armory for their dedicated support of competitive shooting through the years. IDPA is particularly pleased to welcome them back as a major sponsor of the Smith & Wesson Indoor Nationals,” said Robert Ray, membership and marketing director for IDPA.

“Springfield Armory is excited to support great events like the IDPA Indoor National Championship and continues to come out with products that shooters can use in these matches, like the XD(M) 5.25 Competition Series pistol, and the Range Officer 1911 that we just released in 9mm,” said Chad Dyer of Springfield Armory.

Now in its 17th year, the Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor Nationals is one of the shooting sports’ most popular events, thanks to broad industry support. As part of their support, Springfield Armory will be hosting the hospitality room on the range.

The match is scheduled to take place February 20-22 on the indoor ranges of the Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. More than 300 of the sport’s best shooters are expected to compete for titles in Custom Defensive Pistol, Enhanced Service Pistol, Stock Service Pistol, Stock Service Revolver and Enhanced Service Revolver, the five divisions within IDPA.

For more information on IDPA, the Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor National Championship or to join IDPA members competing each week, visit www.IDPA.com.

BERRYVILLE, Ark. – Springfield Armory, one of the most recognized names in competition shooting, will be a major sponsor of the Smith & Wesson IDPA Back Up Gun Nationals, according to the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA).

Springfield Armory joins Apex Tactical Specialties, Harris Publications, Michigan Ammo Company, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the Self Defense Association, SIG SAUER and Smith & Wesson, the title sponsor, in supporting this latest IDPA national championship event. As part of their support, Springfield Armory will host the hospitality suite for competitors and staff.

“When it comes to promoting the shooting sports in America, Springfield Armory has been a leader and one of the most generous corporate sponsors in the industry. We are very happy to once again partner with Springfield Armory to bring IDPA members another great championship event,” said Joyce Wilson, executive director for IDPA.

“Springfield is excited to be part of such a great event, and hope all of the competitors are at the top of their game,” Chad Dyer of Springfield Armory.

The Smith & Wesson IDPA Back Up Gun Nationals will take place November 14-16 and feature a 13-stage course of fire with a round count of 180. Held on the indoor ranges of the Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, match officials expect the event to draw upwards of 200 top IDPA shooters vying for titles in either the Pistol or Revolver division.

Registration is open and just a handful of slots are still available for those interested in competing. Registration is being conducted online at MatchReg.com/BUG.

For more information on IDPA, the inaugural Smith & Wesson IDPA Back Up Gun Nationals or to join the more than 22,000 members competing each week all across America, visit www.IDPA.com.

BERRYVILLE, Ark. – One of the best known names in competition shooting, Springfield Armory, has returned as a major sponsor of the Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor National Championship according to officials with the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA).

“Springfield Armory has been one of the leading supporters of the shooting sports in America,” said Joyce Wilson, executive director for IDPA. “Thanks to their very generous support, countless shooters and matches have benefitted over the years and IDPA especially. On behalf of our 21,000-plus members I want to express our deep appreciation for all that Springfield Armory has done for competition shooting.”

Widely regarded as one of the finest competitive shooting matches in the country, the Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor National Championship represents the official start of IDPA’s competition season. More than 300 of the sport’s best shooters are expected to compete for titles in Custom Defensive Pistol, Enhanced Service Pistol, Stock Service Pistol, Stock Service Revolver and Enhanced Service Revolver, the five divisions within IDPA.

The sold-out 2013 Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor National Championship will take place February 21-23 on the indoor ranges of the Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.

For more information on IDPA, the Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor National Championship or to find a club near you, visit www.IDPA.com. You can also connect with IDPA online by following @OfficialIDPA on Twitter, like ShootIDPA on Facebook, watch IDPA TV, or check for regular updates on the DOWN ZERO Blog.

Known for their uniquely decorated backstraps for the Smith & Wesson line of M&P pistols, Brilliant Backstraps is expanding its offerings to include the popular Springfield line of XD models that feature a removable backstrap.

“Ever since launching Brilliant Backstraps for the Smith & Wesson M&P, customers, and especially women, have been asking us for personalized options for their Springfield Armory XD models. We’re pleased to announce that fans of our Brilliant Backstraps can now pre-order any one of a number of designs for the XDm and XDs,” said Tracy Hughes, founder of Brilliant Backstraps.

In the Tactical Journal (Vol. 15, Issue 4) you'll find on pages 26-33 the equipment survey results from the 2011 IDPA World Shoot. Looking at the brands of handguns used by competitors one fact stands out above all else, two manufacturers, Glock and Smith & Wesson, dominate the list.

Together the two gun making titans account for 67% of all handguns. They are also the only manufactures that had individual models in the double digits. Glock had the most guns at the match with 37.3% of the shooters choosing Gunny's favorite blaster. Of the 142 Glock pistols used at the World Shoot, the Glock G34 was the most popular model with 62 shooters (16.3%) competing with the longer slide competition model. Right behind it was the G17 which had 57 shooters (15%) campaigning with the company's flagship pistol.

Smith & Wesson had 29.7% of the World Shoot market with a total of 113 pistols and revolvers. Their M&P 9mm pistol accounted for 10.2% of all guns and was used by 39 competitors. The M&P Pro 9mm, S&W's direct challenger to the G34, found its way into the holsters of 18 competitors (4.7%). The last model to break into double digits was the Model 686 revolver from Smith & Wesson with 12 competitors (3.1%) carrying it.

As for the most popular platform at the IDPA World Shoot, the striker-fired pistol, led by Glock and Smith & Wesson models, made up 57% of all the handguns with 217 shooters opting to compete with that design. The venerable 1911 had 96 competitors (25.2%) selecting it. If you were to add in the double-stack variants that number goes up to 111 or 29.1%. Below is a breakout of each brand, the total number of models used and what percentage of the World Shoot competitors each manufacture captured.